Massie eats hemp, says it's 'rope, not dope'

Two hemp seeds were shown as an example before being planted at the UK Spindletop Research Farm off of Newtown Pike in Lexington, Ky., on May 27, 2014. University of Kentucky agronomy researchers planted a small hemp plot Tuesday in central Kentucky. (AP Photo/The Lexington Herald-Leader, Pablo Alcala)(Photo: Pablo Alcala, AP)

"Look, I'm going to eat hemp seeds," Massie said on the show while taking a bite out of the bar to demonstrate it doesn't have any of the intoxicating effects of marijuana. "I'm going to be fine. I'm going to be able to complete this segment. This is rope, not dope."

Industrial hemp has become a popular topic among Kentucky politicians in a state where 65 percent of residents support legalizing hemp for industrial purposes, according to a 2013 Bluegrass Poll by the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The federal government has classified hemp the same as marijuana, making it illegal to grow. Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant species but have genetic differences. Industrial hemp has trace amounts of THC, the chemical that gives marijuana users a high..

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture planted hemp seeds at the end of May in a pilot project to research the viability of hemp as a crop. Kentucky is one of 14 states this year that authorized hemp research allowed by legislation in the 2014 Farm Bill signed into law by President Barack Obama.

Among the chief sponsors of the legislation were Massie and Kentucky's two Republican senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.

When the Drug Enforcement Agency this month held up the importation of 286 pounds of hemp seeds to Kentucky for the pilot project, McConnell and Massie both authored legislation that would stop any federal money being used by the DEA to hold up hemp research allowed by the Farm Bill. The DEA released the seeds when faced with litigation filed by the state of Kentucky.

The publicity has been good for Kentucky, Massie said.

"It shows that we are leaders on this issue and can be leaders on other issues as well," he told the Enquirer

Massie has introduced a bill that would allow farmers to apply for permits from the state agricultural commissioner to grow hemp. Massie said he believes the momentum among both Democrats and Republicans is growing to allow for a hemp industry. More people can distinguish between hemp and marijuana.

"I think we're moving beyond the giggle factor when you talk about hemp," Massie said. "I noticed an evolution here. When we said hemp two years ago, people thought it meant marijuana. Now there's less of a giggle factor."